It is now clear why according to the Obama administration there were no glitches plaguing the Healthcare.gov website administering Obamacare: because a whopping six people managed to sign up on the first day it was launched. By the end of the second day: 248 happy participants in a socialized healthcare ponzi scheme. It is also clear why there was nobody happier than the president when the republican party decided to shut down government on the same day as Obamacare was rolled out: because if public attention had focused on the absolute and now confirmed, disaster that the healthcare law’s rollout had been, then everyone, not just the Tea Party, would be demanding a substantial delay in Obamacare.

The enrollment data comes even after the Obama administration has said it cannot provide enrollment figures from HealthCare.gov because it doesn’t have the numbers. “We do not have any reliable data around enrollment, which is why we haven’t given it to date,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told lawmakers on Wednesday. Turns out she did – as Reuters and ABC report, the documents, which are labeled “war room” notes and appear to be summaries of issues with the problematic website beginning on October 2, indicate a mere six enrollments had occurred by that morning – the day after the website was launched and almost immediately crashed.

So how is Obamacare like Facebook, or any other dot com special du jour – only the pageviews matter. Actual user conversions… well, that’s another matter entirely.

To date, Obama administration officials have refused to publicly provide any estimate of successful enrollments, though they have said the site received 4.7 million unique visitors on its first day and has now generated more than 700,000 applications.

An internal administration memo obtained by The Associated Press and confirmed by ABC News revealed that the administration projected half a million successful sign-ups by Oct. 31.

Good luck with that. And we mean it: after all like any authentic Ponzi scheme, Obamacare works only if wave after wave of signs up “foot” the costs for everyone who doesn’t. As such, unless massive amounts of people enroll, the program is assued to be a failure. Pardon: even more of a failure than it is now.

Naturally, the government was quick to downplay the figures:

HHS spokeswoman Joanne Peters stressed tonight that the enrollment figures presented in the “war room notes” are unofficial figures. The agency has said it intends to release its first official report on enrollments by mid-November.

“We will release enrollment statistics on a monthly basis after coordinating information from different sources such as paper, on-line, and call centers, verifying with insurers, and collecting data from states,” she said.

It gets better. Because after finally admitting there is nobody quite capable of messing something, anything, quite like the government, the administration finally agreed to get private sector help. In this case Oracel and… Google – the same firm that it was revealed earlier this week was furious at the government’s spying agency for illegally tapping its confidential user data streams.

The Obama administration said it has brought in experts from top technology companies including Google Inc and Oracle Corp to fix the HealthCare.gov website, as Republicans press for details about the botched October 1 launch.

Health and Human Services said it had added dozens of technology experts and engineers to its round-the-clock effort to fix the technical glitches on the site that is key to the implementation of Obama’s healthcare restructuring law.

Giving some of the first details of who might be leading the tech fix, HHS officials identified two experts by name: Michael Dickerson, a website reliability engineer on leave from Google, and Greg Gershman, a Baltimore-based innovation director with the firm Mobomo and who previously worked for the White House and the General Services Administration.

“We are doing everything we can to assist those contractors to make HealthCare.gov a highly performant, highly reliable, highly secure system,” Oracle CEO Larry Ellison told shareholders at the company’s annual meeting on Thursday in Redwood City, California. There was no comment from Google.

No need for a comment: the NSA already knew what they would say.

Finally, get your popcron because Darrell Issa is preparing to make a super spectacle out of the Obamacare flub, after yesterday he subpoenaed Sebelius, who previously took full responsibility for the “debacle”, for more information.

Issa said he had subpoenaed Sebelius for more information on the website’s technical problems, including how it was tested, and enrollment data. The subpoena requires the documents to be produced by November 13.

“The evidence is mounting that the website did not go through proper testing, including critical security testing, and that the administration ignored repeated warnings from contractors about ongoing problems,” Issa said in a statement.

Needless to say, this is all a short-term distraction: sooner or later the website will be fixed. It is only then that all those people who still have no idea what a complete disaster Obamacare is and will be for the US economy, will finally get the long overdue rude awakening.

* Before JPMorgan acquired the banking operations of Washington Mutual, the bank’s lawyers tangled with regulators over the wording of the agreement. Five years later, JPMorgan and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp are still fighting over the meaning of those words. The question of who bears responsibility for Washington Mutual’s legal liabilities is taking on increasing urgency as J.P. Morgan negotiates a pact with the Justice Department that would end probes of soured mortgage bonds issued by J.P. Morgan and Washington Mutual during the housing boom.

* By the year-end, most airline passengers will be able to use their tablets, e-readers and other gadgets during all stages of flight. The Federal Aviation Administration’s decision, its first big shift on electronic devices since it restricted their use in flight in 1966, caps years of debate over whether electronic emissions from devices can interfere with cockpit instrument.

* The CFTC is so cash starved that it is being forced to delay cases, shelve certain probes and decided not to file charges against two men in the “London whale” trading mess, a top official said.

* Euro-zone inflation fell to its lowest in almost four years, raising pressure on the ECB to ease money supply and support the recovery.

* Germany described as “incomprehensible” U.S. criticism of its export-led economic policies, saying the country’s domestic economy is the main pillar of its growth.

* Goldman Sachs Group Inc scored some points with regulators with a loan to a New York City bicycle-sharing program named after rival Citigroup Inc. The $41 million loan to the Citigroup bike program was part of $2 billion in loans and investments made by the Wall Street bank from October 2010 until December 2012 to comply with U.S. rules designed to ensure financial services reach low- and middle-income neighborhoods, according to a recent regulatory review of the bank’s adherence to the Community Reinvestment Act.

* The way things are going, the term “cable TV” may have to be replaced by “phone TV.” Nearly a decade after Verizon Communications Inc and AT&T Inc began building pipelines to carry TV service to U.S. homes, they are nearing the market share of cable operators in areas where they operate, according to third-quarter results released by cable and phone companies in recent days.

* In the wake of a major immigration-law violation case involving Indian outsourcing giant Infosys Ltd, federal agents are investigating other companies for possible similar alleged misdeeds, according to an official with the Department of Homeland Security.

* Fannie Mae sued nine of the world’s largest banks over alleged manipulation of interest rates, joining the legal battles in the rate-rigging scandal. The lawsuit, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, said that the mortgage-finance giant sustained an estimated $800 million in damages from banks that allegedly manipulated the London interbank offered rate and other financial benchmarks. Fannie also sued the British Bankers’ Association, a private association of large British banks.

FT

The Royal Bank of Scotland has suspended two traders in its foreign exchange division amid global investigations into the possible manipulation of the $5.3 trillion-a-day forex market, sources said.

Wells Fargo, the fourth-largest U.S. bank, has settled claims with the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency over bad mortgages the bank sold ahead of the financial crisis, according to sources.

Insurer American International Group said it had completed its first share buyback since its $182 billion government bailout during the financial crisis.

Japanese consumer electronics company Sony on Friday morning slashed its full-year profit forecast by 26 percent, hit by weakness in its struggling TV operation.

NYT

* Google has spent months and millions of dollars encrypting email, search queries and other information flowing among its data centers worldwide. Facebook’s chief executive said at a conference this fall that the government “blew it.” And though it has not been announced publicly, Twitter plans to set up new types of encryption to protect messages from snoops.

* In an announcement at the company’s office on Thursday, Google showed off an updated version of its Android mobile operating system, called “KitKat 4.4,” that can search for information both on the web and some smartphone apps.

* Now that new insurance marketplaces are opening under the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies are canceling millions of individual plans that fail to meet minimum standards.

* Time Warner Cable lost 306,000 television subscribers in the third quarter, hurt by a contract dispute that resulted in a blackout of CBS programming.

* Rebuffing a strategy of diversification, the venture capital firm XPV Capital believes it can find success by developing expertise in one area.

* Riding a surge in demand for new fuel-efficient planes, Boeing said on Thursday that it would increase production of its top-selling 737 jets to 47 a month by 2017, from 38 now.

* The Container Store has raised $225 million in its initial public offering, after demand from potential shareholders prompted the company to seek even more in its ma
rket debut.

* A majority of Oracle shareholders demonstrated their opposition to the compensation of chief executive Lawrence Ellison on Thursday, voting against a non-binding resolution on the company’s pay practices.

* Citigroup’s financial strategy and solutions group takes stock of the growing wave of shareholder activism, and concludes that what was once primarily an American phenomenon is spreading abroad.

* Fannie Mae sued nine of the world’s largest banks on Thursday, accusing them of colluding to manipulate interest rates and seeking more than $800 million of damages. In a complaint filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan, Fannie Mae, the government-controlled mortgage company, accused the banks of conspiring for many years to suppress the Libor, including during the 2008 financial crisis.

Canada

THE GLOBE AND MAIL

* A new environmental study into Taseko Mines Ltd’s billion-dollar New Prosperity mine proposal in British Columbia says it would pose “several significant adverse environmental effects.”

* Singing superstar Shania Twain and the late Saskatchewan curler Sandra Schmirler are among the notable Canadians who will be celebrated with postage stamps in 2014.

Reports in the business section:

* Barrick Gold Corp is moving aggressively to slash costs and deal with a debt hangover, halting construction at its expensive Pascua Lama mine and raising billions in one of Canada’s biggest stock sales.

* Some of the world’s largest energy companies have unleashed a torrent of oil sands spending, despite industry concerns about access to export markets, soaring costs and volatile Canadian heavy crude prices.

NATIONAL POST

* Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair announced on Thursday that investigators have found a video of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford that allegedly depicts him smoking a crack pipe and charged his friend with extortion, leading a defiant mayor to insist he has “no reason to resign.”

* If there were any doubts about the oil sands industry’s resolve to expand amid growing protests, escalating costs and volatile oil prices, they were put to rest Thursday by mega announcements by Canadian and global oil companies that they are pushing forward with a new generation of projects.

FINANCIAL POST

* Two years after losing out on a bid to buy rival Prime Restaurants, Cara Operations has reached a deal with Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd to merge the two food service giants.

* The Toronto stock market ended October trading sharply lower Thursday, amid major announcements from the oilpatch, earnings disappointments and uncertainty about the Federal Reserve’s next move.

China

SHANGHAI SECURITIES NEWS

– The management committee of the pilot Free Trade Zone in Shanghai plans to implement 19 of the 23 measures designed to expand the service industry by the end of this year.

CHINA DAILY

– The Ministry of Public Security released a circular on Thursday directing police departments across the country to crack down on crimes targeting medical workers, following a spate of incidences leading to the death or injury of hospital staff.

– A policeman was detained for allegedly shooting and killing a pregnant woman in Guangxi Zhuang in the south of China, according to authorities. The case is the fourth incident in two years of a police officer killing innocents with an issued firearm.

PEOPLE’S DAILY

– Leading government officials in China need to put themselves in the position of the masses to understand what people want, where there is public distress and hardship, said a commentary in the paper that acts as the government’s mouthpiece.

SHANGHAI DAILY

– China will extend its European polysilicon anti-dumping investigation by half a year, delaying the imposition of tariffs on imports, the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday, without elaborating on the reasons for the extension.

Fly On The Wall 7:00 AM Market Snapshot

ANALYST RESEARCH

Upgrades

Alpha Natural (ANR) upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at Raymond JamesGeneral Growth (GGP) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/MerrillGreen Dot (GDOT) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorganGreenbrier (GBX) upgraded to Buy from Underperform at BofA/MerrillITT Corp. (ITT) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at RW BairdNetflix (NFLX) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at RW BairdPACCAR (PCAR) upgraded to Hold from Sell at McAdams WrightPenn Virginia (PVA) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit SuisseQuintiles (Q) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at RW BairdSiliconware Precision (SPIL) upgraded to Buy from Sell at UBSValero Energy (VLO) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Cowen

Downgrades

ARIAD (ARIA) downgraded to Hold from Buy at JefferiesARIAD (ARIA) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at LeerinkAdvance Auto Parts (AAP) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche BankAlamos Gold (AGI) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond JamesAlamos Gold (AGI) downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC CapitalAvon Products (AVP) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at BMO Capitalbebe stores (BEBE) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Janney CapitalChart Industries (GTLS) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Piper JaffrayCraft Brew (BREW) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at CitigroupEducation Management (EDMC) downgraded to Underperform at BMO CapitalHornbeck Offshore (HOS) downgraded to Hold from Buy at WunderlichMonotype Imaging (TYPE) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorganPetSmart (PETM) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BofA/MerrillProvident Financial (PROV) downgraded to Market Perform at Raymond JamesRoyal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Societe GeneraleRoyal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at MacquarieSantander Mexico (BSMX) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche BankSolar Capital (SLRC) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Wells FargoSony (SNE) downgraded to Hold from Buy at JefferiesStrayer Education (STRA) downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan StanleyTaubman Centers (TCO) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BofA/MerrillTeleTech (TTEC) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at First AnalysisVertex (VRTX) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at BernsteinVolcano (VOLC) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at BMO CapitalWeight Watchers (WTW) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays

Verizon (VZ) and AT&T (T) are nearing the market share of cable operators in areas where they operate. Both phone companies have shown a greater willingness than their cable rivals, such as Comcast (CMCSA) and Time Warner Cable (TWC), to experiment with delivering movies and TV programming over the Internet outside the traditional pay-TV bundle, the Wall Street Journal reports

After years of grooming customers to expect a few thousand dollars off sticker prices on even its latest models, GM (GM) said it is changing course and promising to shun lavish discounts when it comes to selling its newest pickup trucks, the Wall Street Journal reports

As U.S. retailers face the shortest holiday season in years, they’re preparing to assail customers with deals and promotions this week. Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) is kicking off its online deals today, underscoring concerns that intense discounting aimed at luring budget-conscious shoppers could result in the most tepid holiday spending rise in four years, Reuters reports

Hilton Worldwide, owned by Blackstone Group (BX), is aiming to launch its IPO the week of December 2, sources say, Reuters reports

Shares of U.S. homebuilding companies (LEN, KBH, DHI) have fallen over 20% since May, even as home-improvement retailers rose to a record high, a sign some investors are too pessimistic that higher mortgage rates could derail new construction, Bloomberg reports

Tesla Motors (TSLA) suffered its biggest one-month loss of market value in October, a 17% decline, amid concern among some investors that a fivefold stock-price surge outpaced the growth prospects for the electric-car company, Bloomberg reports

Curious which were the best and worst performing asset classes for the month of October? Deutsche Bank explains.

After September’s no Fed taper fuelled performance, financial markets were supported in October by the near-term satisfactory resolution of the fiscal situation in the US. Asset returns in October broadly reflect what we’ve generally seen so far YTD. Developed world equities have seeing the best of the returns while the performance of commodities has been disappointing. October’s highlights in equities centred on the European periphery where Greek, Italian and Spanish equities returned +17.2%, +11.1% and +8.3% respectively, pushing YTD returns above +20% for Italy and Spain and above +30% for Greece. That said Japanese stocks still lead the way YTD with the Nikkei up just shy of +40% (+39.9%) despite weaker returns in October (-0.9%). EM equities produced another decent month of returns (+4.9%) following the summer’s weakness with the MSCI EM index now back into positive territory YTD, only Chinese stocks (-1.5%) saw negative returns in October amongst the EM countries included in our review.

At the other end of the returns spectrum commodities saw further declines with the CRB index (-2.7%) seeing it’s 6th monthly decline of the year with the YTD performance of -5.8%. Although US WTI crude fell -5.8% in October it is still up (+5.0%) YTD; one of the few commodities to be in positive territory in 2013.

In terms of fixed income returns were positive across the spectrum as key government bond yields saw further declines. 10 year Treasury yields fell around 6bps to 2.55% and traded below 2.5% during October. Government bonds saw more impressive declines in Europe with the 10 year Bund and the 10 Year Gilt both down around 10bps to 1.67% and 2.62% respectively. So government bond total returns were positive with Italian BTPs leading the way (+2.6% in October and +6.2% YTD). EM bonds retraced more of the summer weakness but they remain in negative territory YTD. In credit we saw further outperformance from the higher beta part of the credit spectrum with Fin Sub and HY leading the way. GBP Fin Sub returned an impressive +3.2% in October and is up +8.9% YTD.

After a blistering October for stocks, drunk on yet another month of record liquidity by the cental planners, November’s first overnight trading session has been quiet so far, with the highlight being the release of both official and HSBC China PMI data. The official manufacturing PMI rose to 51.4 in October from 51.1 in September. It managed to beat expectations of 51.2 and was also the highest reading in 18 months. October’s PMIs are historically lower than those for September, so the MoM uptick is considered a bit more impressive. The uptrend in October was also confirmed by the final HSBC manufacturing PMI which printed at 50.9 which is higher than the preliminary reading of 50.7 and September’s reading of 50.9. The Chinese data has helped put a floor on Asian equities overnight and S&P 500 futures are nudging higher (+0.15%). The key laggard are Japanese equities where the TOPIX (-1.1%) is weaker pressured by a number of industrials, ahead of a three day weekend. Electronics-maker Sony is down 12% after surprising the market with a profit downgrade with this impacting sentiment in Japanese equities.

Over in Europe, the EUR continues to be pressured this morning following yesterday’s stunningly weak European jobs and inflation data. Also of note, as had been leaked previously, RBS announced the creation of an internal $61 billion “bad bank.”

Looking at the US day ahead, today’s ISM will be a major focus particularly following the bumper Chicago PMI yesterday. The first of the post-FOMC Fedspeak begins today with Bullard speaking on monetary policy in St Louis. In the UK, the manufacturing PMI is the only data of note.

‘December tapering is not off the table’ is the message that some market participants gleaned from Wednesday’s FOMC statement, boosting the USD and UST yields in the process. But is this interpretation correct? The market may simply have erred in pricing a first reduction in asset purchases for March 2014 and is now reassigning a greater than zero probability that tapering could still happen before year-end. Even so, SG’s economics team does not believe the balance of probability has shifted much as we still look for a tapering start in March, and USD bulls need to be mindful that any decision to start winding down bond purchases comes with a precondition for the Fed of seeing ‘more evidence of an improving economy’. Without better non-farm payroll numbers in November and December, tapering will be a story for next year.

A very weak flash Eurozone HICP inflation figure of 0.7% yoy (consensus at 1.1% and SG forecast of 0.9%) was reported yesterday and delivered a serious but not fatal blow for EUR enthusiasts. Unsurprisingly, the EUR fell against all G10 counterparts (barring SEK), and its performance against EM currencies was no less lacklustre either, with EUR/TRY down 0.92% and EUR/THB down 0.8%. After the inflation figure hit its lowest level since November 2009, speculation about further ECB policy easing has increased. In December, we expect the ECB to mark down its 2014 inflation forecast from the current 1.3% rate. A more detailed analysis of the latest inflation data can be found here “Low inflation puts pressure on the ECB” (link). EU 10y swaps also fell sharply in reaction to the inflation numbers, registering a dip below the 1.94% mark before correcting to 1.97% in Asia. As a result, the US/EU 10y spread has now widened sharply to 74bps, marking a 17bps spike from its weekly low of 57bps.

In Asia, the BoJ kept its policy unchanged yesterday and maintained that the 2% price stability target is likely to be achieved sometime during the latter half of its projected period, i.e. between October 2014 and March 2016. We expect additional QQE sometime during Q2 2014, as we forecast weaker FY14 real GDP growth than the BoJ has projected due to the consumption tax hike. More details on this by our economics team can be accessed through our research piece “Japan: additional easing needed by BoJ during Q2 2014” (link).

The USD performance so far has been relatively strong gaining against most G10 peers, greenback also strengthened vs most of the EM currencies, and 10y yields are up 3bp at 2.70%. Markets today will look to private sector employment inputs from ISM manufacturing as they hunt for hints on how the federal shutdown impacted the US economy. Also on the agenda today are a trio of Fed speakers, a series of PMI releases from the Europe and industrial production figures from Brazil.

The overnight event summary concludes with Jim Reid’s recap

One interesting development this week has been the much lower than expected European inflation rates which in most cases are taking the YoY growth back down to levels only previous seen in the modern era (for a few months) in 2009. Spanish CPI was 0.3-0.4% lower than expected on Wednesday with the straight CPI number in technical deflation at -0.1% YoY. German numbers came in around 0.2% below expectations on the same day (1.2% YoY) with Italy yesterday seeing 0.7% YoY inflation against 1.1-1.2% expected. The overall Eurozone number showed similar declines. It’s difficult to know what to think about this though. It has certainly helped the Euro come off its recent peak (1.382 earlier this week to 1.355 as we type) as the market considers the possibility of ECB rate cuts again. Higher than expected Euro unemployment (12.2% vs 12.0% expected) helped on this front too. Simultaneously it seems the Fed isn’t going to guarantee us no taper before March even if that eventually materialises. So the liquidity perception balance between the two regions has shifted a bit over the last 48 hours. But back to Euro inflation, our experts think there are some one-offs in the numbers and expect the rate to tick up over the coming months. One can also argue that low inflation in the likes of Spain is a sign of improving competitiveness. Nevertheless there are worries and it certainly ties in with the arguments made in our long-term study from September “A Nominal Problem” where we highlighted how we were having a global problem with both low real GDP and inflation. The combination not being great when you still have a high debt burden. Europe really doesn’t need the threat of deflation with so many structural issues still to deal with.
Although inflation is expected to edge back up from here we are getting to low enough levels that the behaviour of participants in the economy might start to be influenced by the prospect of falling prices and they may hold back purchases/investments. This is why central banks generally aim for at least 2% on inflation and not zero. You tend to want to make it positive enough that deflation doesn’t ever become an imminent risk. So this is one to watch going into 2014. In the nearer-term keep an eye out for the survey of professional forecasters release in the middle of this month. The ECB is very sensitive to the 2-yr ahead reading as a measure of inflation expectations and it may influence their policy stance to some degree at the December meeting and into 2014.

On a more positive note, the latest activity data from China continues to improve. The official manufacturing PMI rose to 51.4 in October from 51.1 in September. It managed to beat expectations of 51.2 and was also the highest reading in 18 months. DB’s Jun Ma highlights that October’s PMIs are historically lower than those for September, so the MoM uptick is therefore a bit more impressive. The uptrend in October was also confirmed by the final HSBC manufacturing PMI which printed at 50.9 which is higher than the preliminary reading of 50.7 and September’s reading of 50.9. The Chinese data has helped put a floor on Asian equities overnight and S&P 500 futures are nudging higher (+0.15%). The key laggard are Japanese equities where the TOPIX (-1.1%) is weaker pressured by a number of industrials, ahead of a three day weekend. Electronics-maker Sony is down 12% after surprising the market with a profit downgrade with this impacting sentiment in Japanese equities. While EURUSD continues to be pressured this morning, the sentiment is firmer in AUDUSD (+0.2%) driven by the Chinese PMIs.

In the US, a surprisingly strong Chicago PMI print set the tone early in the day. The PMI surged 10.2 points to 65.9 which was almost 11points above consensus estimates. Our economists point out that this was the largest monthly increase since July 1983 (+12.7) and the highest level since March 2011 (67.6). Initial jobless claims of 340k were broadly in line with estimates of 338k. The S&P 500 traded down to a session low of 1755 shortly after the Chicago PMI release which triggered further chatter of December tapering, but the dip proved to be brief and equities quickly recovered from those levels. Towards the end of US trading, equities once again gave up those gains to finish near the month on a sour note (S&P500 -0.38% on the day). Financials weighed on the index for much of the day and closed at the lows. A Bloomberg report suggesting that AT&T would make a tilt at Vodafone next year, saw telcos also weigh on equity markets in the final minutes of trading. If the acquisition were to go ahead, it would create the world’s largest telecom company with a market cap exceeding $250bn with more than 500 million subscribers worldwide (Bloomberg). Elsewhere, after the initial post-Chicago PMI selloff, 10yr UST yields drifted back down to be a little higher (2.554%,+1.6bp) on the day – bucking the trend in Europe where core and periphery bond yields fell on the back of the lower inflation numbers.

Looking at the day ahead, today’s ISM will be a major focus particularly following the bumper Chicago PMI yesterday. The first of the post-FOMC Fedspeak begins today with Bullard speaking on monetary policy in St Louis. In the UK, the manufacturing PMI is the only data of note. RBS is due to report its FY13 results and the expectation is that Chancellor Osborne may speak shortly after to detail options for dealing with the bank’s problem loans. The FT reports that the bank will announce the creation of an internally managed bad bank, refocus on UK retail and business lending and pull back from its overseas operations.

Al Jazeera America has done some great work in obtaining the official NSA talking points via a Freedom of Information Act request. As might be expected, the agency tells its people to use the attacks on September 11, 2001 to manipulate public opinion into accepting unacceptable levels of surveillance. As I have maintained over and over again for years, our overreaction to 9/11 has done exponentially more damage to the nation than any terrorist attack ever could. I penned my latest thoughts on the attacks last month in my piece: How I Remember September 11, 2001.

One of the highlights, actually lowlights, of the document is what the NSA refers to as a “soundbite that resonates.” Here it is:

I much prefer to be here today explaining these programs, than explaining another 9/11 event that we were not able to prevent.

More from Al Jazeera America:

The National Security Agency advised its officials to cite the 9/11 attacks as justification for its mass surveillance activities, according to a master list of NSA talking points.

Invoking the events of 9/11 to justify the controversial NSA programs, which have caused major diplomatic fallout around the world, was the top item on the talking points that agency officials were encouraged to use.

Under the subheading “Sound Bites That Resonate,” the document suggests the statement “I much prefer to be here today explaining these programs, than explaining another 9/11 event that we were not able to prevent.”

The NSA has not yet turned over to Al Jazeera the documents the agency used to prepare the talking points, saying those materials require additional review before they can be released.

I can only imagine what’s in those…

The master talking points list goes on to explain, under a subheading titled “We Needed to Connect the Dots,” that “post-9/11 we made several changes and added a number of capabilities to enable us to connect the dots.”

I suppose there were too many dots to connect in the Boston bombing. Oh let me guess, if you only had more spy powers you could’ve stopped it!

Al Jazeera America has done some great work in obtaining the official NSA talking points via a Freedom of Information Act request. As might be expected, the agency tells its people to use the attacks on September 11, 2001 to manipulate public opinion into accepting unacceptable levels of surveillance. As I have maintained over and over again for years, our overreaction to 9/11 has done exponentially more damage to the nation than any terrorist attack ever could. I penned my latest thoughts on the attacks last month in my piece: How I Remember September 11, 2001.

One of the highlights, actually lowlights, of the document is what the NSA refers to as a “soundbite that resonates.” Here it is:

I much prefer to be here today explaining these programs, than explaining another 9/11 event that we were not able to prevent.

More from Al Jazeera America:

The National Security Agency advised its officials to cite the 9/11 attacks as justification for its mass surveillance activities, according to a master list of NSA talking points.

Invoking the events of 9/11 to justify the controversial NSA programs, which have caused major diplomatic fallout around the world, was the top item on the talking points that agency officials were encouraged to use.

Under the subheading “Sound Bites That Resonate,” the document suggests the statement “I much prefer to be here today explaining these programs, than explaining another 9/11 event that we were not able to prevent.”

The NSA has not yet turned over to Al Jazeera the documents the agency used to prepare the talking points, saying those materials require additional review before they can be released.

I can only imagine what’s in those…

The master talking points list goes on to explain, under a subheading titled “We Needed to Connect the Dots,” that “post-9/11 we made several changes and added a number of capabilities to enable us to connect the dots.”

I suppose there were too many dots to connect in the Boston bombing. Oh let me guess, if you only had more spy powers you could’ve stopped it!

Are genetically modified foods, better known as GMOs, safe to eat? Although there is no definitive answer to this question yet, American consumers eat genetically engineered foods all the time. However, the maze of labeling laws makes choosing whether or not they want to eat them a totally different story.

Are genetically modified foods, better known as GMOs, safe to eat? Although there is no definitive answer to this question yet, American consumers eat genetically engineered foods all the time. However, the maze of labeling laws makes choosing whether or not they want to eat them a totally different story.

If you believe that there is high inflation in the United States, you are just imagining things. That is the message that the U.S. government and the Federal Reserve would have us to believe. You might have noticed that the government announced on Wednesday that the cost of living increase for Social Security beneficiaries will only be 1.5 percent next year. This is one of the smallest cost of living increases that we have ever seen. The federal government is able to get away with this because the official numbers say that there is hardly any inflation in the U.S. right now.

Of course anyone that shops for groceries or that pays bills regularly knows what a load of nonsense the official inflation rate is. The U.S. government has changed the way that inflation is calculated numerous times since 1978, and each time it has been changed the goal has been to make inflation appear to be even lower. According to John Williams of shadowstats.com, if the inflation rate was still calculated the same way that it was back when Jimmy Carter was president, the official rate of inflation would be somewhere between 8 and 10 percent today. But if the mainstream news actually reported such a number, everyone would be screaming and yelling about getting inflation under control. Instead, the super low number that gets put out to the public makes it look like the Federal Reserve has plenty of room to do even more reckless money printing. It is a giant scam, but most Americans are falling for it.

Meanwhile, the prices of the things that most Americans buy on a regular basis just keep going up. The following are just a few examples of price inflation that we have seen lately…

But don't worry – the government says that the inflation you see is just your imagination.

-Amazon.com has raised the minimum order size required for free shipping from $25 to $35.

But don't worry – you can afford to order more stuff thanks to the great new job that you got during this "economic recovery".

-It is being projected that those using natural gas to heat their homes will see their heating costs rise by 13 percent this winter.

But don't worry – "global warming" should kick in to high gear any day now.

-The price of chocolate has gone up by 45 percent since 2007, and it is being projected that it will now be increasing at an even faster pace.

But don't worry – eating chocolate is bad for you anyway.

-Thanks to Obamacare, the health insurance premiums of many American families are absolutely skyrocketing. As I wrote about the other day, one family down in Texas just got a letter informing them that their health insurance premiums are going up by 539 percent.

But don't worry – this is just "health care reform" in action.

Meanwhile, things just continue to get tougher for middle class American families. Household incomes have actually been declining for five years in a row and total consumer credit has risen by a whopping 22 percent over the past three years.

So what do the "authorities" say that the solution to our problems is?

They want even more inflation of course. According to CNBC, many Federal Reserve officials (including Janet Yellen) believe that what the U.S. economy really needs is a lot more inflation…

Inflation is widely reviled as a kind of tax on modern life, but as Federal Reserve policy makers prepare to meet this week, there is growing concern inside and outside the Fed that inflation is not rising fast enough.

Some economists say more inflation is just what the American economy needs to escape from a half-decade of sluggish growth and high unemployment.

The Fed has worked for decades to suppress inflation, but economists, including Janet Yellen, President Obama's nominee to lead the Fed starting next year, have long argued that a little inflation is particularly valuable when the economy is weak. Rising prices help companies increase profits; rising wages help borrowers repay debts. Inflation also encourages people and businesses to borrow money and spend it more quickly.

The rest of that article goes on and on about how wonderful inflation is for an economy and about how the U.S. economy desperately needs some more of it.

Well, if that was actually true, then the Weimar Republic should have had one of the best economies in the history of mankind.

But this inevitably happens when a nation starts producing fiat currency that is backed by absolutely nothing. There is always a temptation to just print a little bit more.

In the end, we are going to be destroyed by our own foolishness. We have the de facto reserve currency of the planet, and the rest of the world has trusted it for decades. But now we are systematically destroying our currency, and the rest of the globe is looking on in horror.

If you want to see a very good example of the impact that inflation has had on our economy in recent years, just check out this amazing chart which shows what the Federal Reserve's reckless policies have done to the prices of commodities.

Ultimately, the U.S. dollar will be destroyed, and we will have done it to ourselves.

Many people are attempting to protect themselves against this inevitability by putting a lot of their money into hard assets such as gold and silver, but before you do that you might want to make sure that you don't have a vengeful spouse that will toss it all into a dumpster someday. The following is from a recent New York Post article…

A Colorado man was so angry at his ex-wife for divorcing him that he had the couple’s life savings of $500,000 converted to gold — then tossed it in a dumpster so she couldn’t have any of it, the Colorado Springs Gazette reports.

In June, Earl Ray Jones, 52, of Divide, Colorado, was ordered by a judge to pay $3,000 a month to the woman he’d been married to for 25 years, so he pillaged the couple’s retirement account and had it converted into 22 pounds worth of gold and silver bars, the paper reports.

Jones claims he then tossed the modern-day treasure into a dumpster behind a motel, where he had been living temporarily, later telling the judge he had no money to give his ex-wife, according to the paper.

Did that story make you smile? It sure did the trick for me.

But that story is also a picture of what the Federal Reserve is doing with our dollar.

Our currency has been used for decades by almost everyone else around the planet. In fact, more U.S. dollars are used outside of our country than inside of it.

But now the Federal Reserve is systematically trashing the dollar and the rest of the globe is starting to lose faith in it.

Instead of realizing their mistakes, Fed officials say that we need to create even more inflation and they just keep on wildly printing more money.

If you believe that there is high inflation in the United States, you are just imagining things. That is the message that the U.S. government and the Federal Reserve would have us to believe. You might have noticed that the government announced on Wednesday that the cost of living increase for Social Security beneficiaries will only be 1.5 percent next year. This is one of the smallest cost of living increases that we have ever seen. The federal government is able to get away with this because the official numbers say that there is hardly any inflation in the U.S. right now.

Of course anyone that shops for groceries or that pays bills regularly knows what a load of nonsense the official inflation rate is. The U.S. government has changed the way that inflation is calculated numerous times since 1978, and each time it has been changed the goal has been to make inflation appear to be even lower. According to John Williams of shadowstats.com, if the inflation rate was still calculated the same way that it was back when Jimmy Carter was president, the official rate of inflation would be somewhere between 8 and 10 percent today. But if the mainstream news actually reported such a number, everyone would be screaming and yelling about getting inflation under control. Instead, the super low number that gets put out to the public makes it look like the Federal Reserve has plenty of room to do even more reckless money printing. It is a giant scam, but most Americans are falling for it.

Meanwhile, the prices of the things that most Americans buy on a regular basis just keep going up. The following are just a few examples of price inflation that we have seen lately…

But don't worry – the government says that the inflation you see is just your imagination.

-Amazon.com has raised the minimum order size required for free shipping from $25 to $35.

But don't worry – you can afford to order more stuff thanks to the great new job that you got during this "economic recovery".

-It is being projected that those using natural gas to heat their homes will see their heating costs rise by 13 percent this winter.

But don't worry – "global warming" should kick in to high gear any day now.

-The price of chocolate has gone up by 45 percent since 2007, and it is being projected that it will now be increasing at an even faster pace.

But don't worry – eating chocolate is bad for you anyway.

-Thanks to Obamacare, the health insurance premiums of many American families are absolutely skyrocketing. As I wrote about the other day, one family down in Texas just got a letter informing them that their health insurance premiums are going up by 539 percent.

But don't worry – this is just "health care reform" in action.

Meanwhile, things just continue to get tougher for middle class American families. Household incomes have actually been declining for five years in a row and total consumer credit has risen by a whopping 22 percent over the past three years.

So what do the "authorities" say that the solution to our problems is?

They want even more inflation of course. According to CNBC, many Federal Reserve officials (including Janet Yellen) believe that what the U.S. economy really needs is a lot more inflation…

Inflation is widely reviled as a kind of tax on modern life, but as Federal Reserve policy makers prepare to meet this week, there is growing concern inside and outside the Fed that inflation is not rising fast enough.

Some economists say more inflation is just what the American economy needs to escape from a half-decade of sluggish growth and high unemployment.

The Fed has worked for decades to suppress inflation, but economists, including Janet Yellen, President Obama's nominee to lead the Fed starting next year, have long argued that a little inflation is particularly valuable when the economy is weak. Rising prices help companies increase profits; rising wages help borrowers repay debts. Inflation also encourages people and businesses to borrow money and spend it more quickly.

The rest of that article goes on and on about how wonderful inflation is for an economy and about how the U.S. economy desperately needs some more of it.

Well, if that was actually true, then the Weimar Republic should have had one of the best economies in the history of mankind.

But this inevitably happens when a nation starts producing fiat currency that is backed by absolutely nothing. There is always a temptation to just print a little bit more.

In the end, we are going to be destroyed by our own foolishness. We have the de facto reserve currency of the planet, and the rest of the world has trusted it for decades. But now we are systematically destroying our currency, and the rest of the globe is looking on in horror.

If you want to see a very good example of the impact that inflation has had on our economy in recent years, just check out this amazing chart which shows what the Federal Reserve's reckless
policies have done to the prices of commodities.

Ultimately, the U.S. dollar will be destroyed, and we will have done it to ourselves.

Many people are attempting to protect themselves against this inevitability by putting a lot of their money into hard assets such as gold and silver, but before you do that you might want to make sure that you don't have a vengeful spouse that will toss it all into a dumpster someday. The following is from a recent New York Post article…

A Colorado man was so angry at his ex-wife for divorcing him that he had the couple’s life savings of $500,000 converted to gold — then tossed it in a dumpster so she couldn’t have any of it, the Colorado Springs Gazette reports.

In June, Earl Ray Jones, 52, of Divide, Colorado, was ordered by a judge to pay $3,000 a month to the woman he’d been married to for 25 years, so he pillaged the couple’s retirement account and had it converted into 22 pounds worth of gold and silver bars, the paper reports.

Jones claims he then tossed the modern-day treasure into a dumpster behind a motel, where he had been living temporarily, later telling the judge he had no money to give his ex-wife, according to the paper.

Did that story make you smile? It sure did the trick for me.

But that story is also a picture of what the Federal Reserve is doing with our dollar.

Our currency has been used for decades by almost everyone else around the planet. In fact, more U.S. dollars are used outside of our country than inside of it.

But now the Federal Reserve is systematically trashing the dollar and the rest of the globe is starting to lose faith in it.

Instead of realizing their mistakes, Fed officials say that we need to create even more inflation and they just keep on wildly printing more money.